Nothing will change until the Redskins find their identity

Instead of writing about what we all saw between the lines yesterday during the Redskins’ loss to the Panthers, I’m going to focus on what happened outside the lines that disturbs me.

Being in the stadium provides a different perspective on the game. Spectators are able to see more in person than they can on television. I have been curious, like everyone else, about the alleged lack of passion and fire. So I watched the Redskins’ sideline for most of the first half Sunday.

There was no visible intensity, no real visible emotion, no real visible interaction and, most disturbing of all, it looked like guys were either defeated emotionally with their heads hanging or just passing time. I’m talking about the first two quarters!

Washington’s lack of identity is always discussed about this time of year, and this year is no different. Again I find myself saying this is a team without an identity. Maybe that is this teams identity--it never has one.

Here’s the conclusion I came to while watching the team I love so much slip deeper into a dark hole. How can a team define its season if it can’t even define itself?

The battle to become a better team lies within the personal battles of each and every coach and player to figure out who they are, what they want this team to be and how they go about getting there.

This team has no direction. The head coach seems to have called it a season. He’s right about one thing: this is a time for evaluation. I hope his evaluation starts with himself. The same goes for everyone else. Think long and hard, dig deep during this bye week into the question of identity and how it helps or hurts the team.

People try to make football into this complex game that requires rocket scientists to teach and coach it. I’m not saying it doesn’t take intelligence, but be clear: none of these guys are re-attaching a severed arm or performing brain surgery. Either you have coaches who put you in the right position to be successful, or you don’t. Either you have players who play so hard they can’t accept losing, or you don’t.

It seems like the Redskins are lacking in both these areas, and losing is the only result that can follow.

I don’t claim to know it all but I do know that conditions won’t change if all involved in the failures of this team aren’t working to change its identity.

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